


The Ninth Circle

by Creepy_Poetics



Category: Christian Bible, Christian Bible (New Testament), Original Work
Genre: Angst, Fallen Angels, Grief/Mourning, Hell, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Poetry, Regret, Religious Content, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-30
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2020-07-27 01:50:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20037937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Creepy_Poetics/pseuds/Creepy_Poetics
Summary: "AndSatan’ll never admit he doesn’t know what to say,can’t find a word for grief in the 800 languagesof the cosmos."Two poems written by a trash baby™ who ships Satan and Judas because she likes to cry about damned things.





	1. “It would have been better for that man if he had not been born”

i.

When Satan comes to a dead  
Judas in a guise with open,  
templed palms and a crown  
of thorns, they consume and  
mark each other, blackberry  
kisses on white bark, pollen  
on a tombstone, yellow jackets  
gnashing horseflies into paste.

ii.

Judas is Southern summer dust;  
he’s Georgia clay, spilling  
and marking grass, dirt, pants,  
skin. He’s honeysuckle and  
chewing tobacco, wild  
strawberries, discarded  
orange peels. His lips  
are wet, pleading; he smells  
of myrrh and lavender  
and please don’t leave me.


	2. The Cost of 30 Silver

Satan has a silver tongue, but Judas  
gives head like John the Baptist. The shared bed  
does nothing to hold off the frost of Hell.  
It is loveless, sheets stained with unending  
want and leaking scabs, but this is a better  
day, a day where they rest, a day when Judas  
doesn’t stare into the darkness with nothing  
in his eyes, a day when Judas doesn’t swear  
he should suffer more and contemplates  
jumping into the burning lake. Even with  
their banter and jokes, Satan can’t heal  
anything, anyone, can only indulge with his palm  
against Judas’ cheek, his fingers on his shoulder,  
circling the dark freckles like sleeping stars. And  
Satan’ll never admit he doesn’t know what to say,  
can’t find a word for grief in the 800 languages  
of the cosmos.

When the silence is too much, Judas leaves  
to water the suicide trees, and Satan follows  
from a distance. The watering can shakes  
in Judas’ hand. He falters, falls to the ash  
ground beside the cursed, brittle trees. He stays  
there, mired in the mud like Job. Satan only  
knows the full force of Judas’ sobs when he  
reveals himself. Judas rushes up and clings  
to the front of Satan’s cloak. It’s been so long  
since Satan was alone weeping in Hell, smoke rising  
from where his wings once were. Though Satan says  
no soothing words, he reaches out, clasps Judas close  
like a tarnished silver crown, and doesn’t let go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like this, you can check out:
> 
> –My free online flash fic published Marias at Sampaguitas, ["Devils' Catch."](https://mariasatsampaguitas.wixsite.com/marias/blog/flash-fiction-by-emily-deibler-2) Satan and Judas go fishing.
> 
> –My free online story published by Vamp Cat Mag called, ["The Worst Husbands in All of Eternity,"](https://www.vampcatmag.com/read/worst-husbands-in-eternity-emily-deibler) an overview on the inception of their relationship.
> 
> –A short story published by TL;DR Press called, ["The Stygian Home for Cats, Goats, Human Spawn, and Miscellaneous Sacrifices."](https://www.amazon.com/Kindred-Anthology-TL-DR-Press-ebook-dp-B07P8Y26QW/dp/B07P8Y26QW/ref=mt_kindle?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=) Satan and Judas visit an orphanage in Limbo for unbaptized children and animals sacrificed to the Devil.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
